New navigation aid?

[j.sabourn]

Hope everyone remembers the half convergency error to convert a D/F bearing to a mercatorial bearing. Half Dlong times Cosine of the lat. Or to make it easy Nories nautical Tables gave at a glance. The only book I now retain from proper navigaion as taught for a great number of years. Or from memory for compass errors taking an amplitude Sin Amp equals sin dec sec lat. Or the deck boy on the focsle in fog throwing pebbles. Who needs all the fancy futuristic Flash Gordon equiptment, its always breaking down in any case and no one there to fix it. Cheers JS

[Captain Kong]

Welcome home again John
Hope you enjoyed your vacation.
Cheers
Brian.

[Captain Kong]

I can remember old Captain Marshall of the BEECHFIELD. one of Savages, [wonderful shipowners name,] 1952.
Only a magnetic compass on board, open wheelhouse, absolutly nothing else. Never saw a compass error taken.
He seemed to navigate by smell, and instinct, thick fog, storms, blizzards, etc made no difference. We always got there without mishap.
He was the last of his breed.
Cheers
Brian

[Ivan Cloherty]

Sailed with a few like that during my rock dodging times Brian, first mate I sailed with was an old Irish man who had been a sailing ship skipper, never ever put a position on a chart, never referred to a chart, and the Decca navigator was a complete mystery to him, but when relieving him on watch, the vessel was always where it was supposed to be, no matter what the weather had thrown at us.

[j.sabourn]

#22... Need another one to get over it Brian. Its a different world out there now to what it used to be. More knowledgible travellers now than ever. Had to keep tongue in cheek at times listening to all the knowledge displayed about India and other countries which we visited years ago, now they see them from a tourists point of view and dont see the darker sides. NZ though is as you know a country on its own and must have one of the biggest ex Scottish pats background of any ex colony. Always feels like home there the same as Oz. Cheers John S.

[John Arton]

Interesting and true, John, thanks for expressing the views of myself and countless other 'proper' navigators of the mid twentieth century. Am I allowed to ask when, with whom (and why that company) you 'signed the parchment' and when and why you came ashore?

Graham
If the John you are referring to is me, then I sailed with the Canadian Pacific from Cadet to Chief Officer, 1967 to 1989. Why the C.P., well on a whim I went down on Tuesday to the Shipping Federation in Liverpool {lived in the Lake District at that time} and asked if there was any companies taking on deck cadets at that time. They phoned round and arranged interviews with Blue Flu, P and O, Bookers and C.P. for me on that day. Had some weird interviews {Blue Flu asked me if I was gay} but C.P. was the strangest as the guy interviewing me kept dashing away and forgetting about me. Eventually the interview consisted of him asking me if I wanted a job, me replying yes and that was it. Had a medical with them that day which consisted of the Doc taking my blood pressure and asking his secretary "what do you think of that one on the couch", she replying "he is not going to drop dead tomorrow is he", at which the Doc told me to get up, get dressed, "you passed son". Went and found the guy interviewing me, told him I had passed and he asked me when I could sail. I said when did he want me to and he said would Thursday be o.k. So I ended the day going round to Greenbergs with a list of gear I would need, going to the Shipping Federation to get my discharge Book, going home late at night to tell my mother I was shipping out the day after tomorrow and that was it.
Stayed with C.P. until they folded in 89, went Port Captain for a couple of years then joined Stolt Tankers until 08 when I was retired on medical grounds. Did the odd job on bunker mother ships plus a year lecturing at South Tyneside College but now retired.
rgds
JA

[happy daze john in oz]

Wonderful things GPS system. We now have aversion here in Oz that you can put on your dogs collar, if he goes missing you can trace him.
Now as crazy as it sounds one guy has now suggested that one be developed for people with dementia. Most weeks an appeal goes out on radio for someone who has gone adrift.

I have never needed a GPS in my car, her indoors does a fantastic job.

[John Gill]

#27- I usually just throw a stick, my dog always brings it back.

[John Pruden]

just watched a program on Bugatti cars the latest model wherever you are in the world is reading your engine performance/ driving/ and all other things running/ now if they can do that with a car from thousands of miles away what can they do with a ship???jp

[gray_marian]

#27, I have read about that here too John. Would be of great benefit for families with a dementia member. My late mother in law had a neighbour who used to take off at every opportunity.
Luckily it was a village and a local would guide her home. Her poor husband used to be distraught searching for her.

At present I live near a nursing home. So I either answer the door to their visitors or worse a Doctor who walked in thinking he was at the right place, but the saddest is when a few of the patients themselves have rang the doorbell looking for a long departed parent. When I take them back the home is in an uproar
trying to locate them.

On a lighter note, I'd buy one and attach it to my husband